1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for collecting data, and more particularly, to a data collecting method and apparatus which automatically transmits data to a wireless data transmitting/receiving station when an amount of data stored in the data collecting apparatus is more than a predetermined amount.
2. Description of Related Art
Portable data measuring apparatuses collecting data have been developed for users for various purposes. These data measuring apparatuses measure various data for predetermined time, store the measured data in a predetermined storage unit, and transmit the data recorded in the storage unit to a user PC, a web server, and the like.
These data measuring apparatuses include, for example, biosignal measuring apparatuses measuring and storing a user's biosignal, digital cameras or camcorders recording pictures or moving picture data photographed by a user, and location measuring apparatuses measuring a user's location.
However, there is a constraint on the capacity of a storage unit of the data measuring apparatus. Thus, when the data measuring apparatus measures data for more than certain time and stores the measured data in a storage unit, the capacity of the storage unit easily becomes full. Accordingly, the data stored in the storage unit has to be uploaded to a database of a user PC or a web server having a larger capacity of the storage unit. This is to continue to use the data measuring apparatuses described above.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network connection of a conventional data measuring apparatus. Referring to FIG. 1, a data measuring apparatus 101 is connected to a user PC 103 via a wired cable 102. A user controls the user PC 103 to upload data stored in a storage unit of the data measuring apparatus 101 to the user PC 103.
When the data measuring apparatus 101 is a calorie tracker measuring the amount of motion of a user, data associated with the amount of motion of the user is stored in a storage unit of the calorie tracker. When no more data can be stored in the storage unit of the calorie tracker the user connects the calorie tracker to the user PC 103 via the wired cable 102 and uploads the measured data of a predetermined time to a user terminal.
In this case, the user may control the user PC 103 to delete the uploaded data from the storage unit of the data measuring apparatus 101, so as to recover the capacity of the storage unit. Also, the user may transmit the data stored in the user PC 103 to a data center 105 via a predetermined network 104.
When the user is a patient, data associated with the amount of motion of the user may be used for the user's checkup. Accordingly, the user transmits the data stored in the user PC 103 to the data center 105.
However, to upload data stored in a storage unit of a data measuring apparatus 101 in the conventional art to a user PC 103 or a predetermined web server, a user must connect the data measuring apparatus 101 and the user PC 103 by using a cable or the like and control the user PC 103 to upload data. Also, when the user did not upload data stored in the storage unit before the available capacity ran out, storage space became unavailable to store additional data. Accordingly, there was a concern of losing data.
Also, a user had to transmit data stored in a user PC 103 to a data center 105 in order to make the data center manage data measured from the data measuring apparatuses 101.
Also, a method of making a predetermined support apparatus wirelessly transmit data stored in a data measuring apparatus 101 to a predetermined server when the data measuring apparatus 101 and the supporter were connected was suggested to solve the above inconveniences. However, in the aforementioned method, data was transmitted only when a data measuring apparatus 101 and a supporter were connected. Also, the capacity of a storage unit of the data measuring apparatus 101 was not automatically controlled.